Dental spending growth projected to increase through 2021

According to a June 2012 Report, dental spending is
projected to increase at an average rate of 5% through 2021. Under the 2010
Affordable Care Act (ACA), the growth rate is expected to accelerate more in
2014 due to expanded coverage of Medicaid patients, the implementation of the individual mandate, and expanded youth coverage (Age-26 Mandate). Estimates from the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services projects an increase in dental expenditures from $104.8
billion in 2010 to $179.8 billion in 2021, as more patients will have access to
dental insurance. All of these increases are pending several U.S. Supreme Court
decisions relating to the ACA and are still considered “highly speculative”.
While the overall impact of ACA on dentistry remains to be seen, a steady
growth in spending is all but inevitable.

Do any of the provisions of the ACA concern you as a future
dentist? What ramifications might this act have on practice purchase/ownership
in the future?

Dental spending growth projected to increase through 2021

08:46 AM | Oct 26,2015

The increase in spending should be a major concern for all dental health professionals. Beginning as a student, if the school's cost to provide dental care increases, then tuition fees will also increase as a result. With the already high student debt we are facing as new graduates, it seems ridiculous that we could be facing an even higher number. As a business owner, we will need to become creative and even more efficient than we already are to decreas overhead costs. This may look different on a variety of levels. Cutting staff to work "lean and mean"? Using a different lab with lower costs? As great as it is that more people are receiving access to care, I think it is important to look at how we are going to finance this.